Information on the Florida state-supported higher education system is presented to enhance the black citizen's capability to discuss and influence the future design and operation of public higher education. Attention is directed to: the structure of higher education; developments in the community colleges, state universities, and land grant colleges; and Florida's desegregation plan for higher education and relevant court cases. Additionally, black presence in public higher education is considered in areas such as top-level decisionmaking bodies, employment opportunities within higher education; and educational opportunities. Based on the 1970 census, black citizens represented 15.5 percent of Florida's population. Blacks comprised roughly 9.3 percent of the community college enrollees in the fall of 1973 (more than half of these students were enrolled in nondegree programs), and 8.5 percent of public university students. As of January 1974, black citizens held only 21 of 211 positions on the principal policy and decisionmaking higher education boards. Of these 21, 20 were on community college boards. In addition, only 6.1 percent of the full-time faculty at state-controlled senior colleges and universities were black, and the number and percentage were smaller for the community colleges. The data indicate that black enrollment and employment within higher education are limited. Appended materials include: lists of members of the board of regents of the state university system and of community college districts by county, and information on the independent status versus annexation of public black colleges in the United States. (SW)

Note: This paper was identified by a joint project of the Institute on Desegregation at North Carolina Central University and the ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education at The George Washington University.